1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly, to a door assembly of a refrigerator. Although the present invention is suitable for a wide scope of applications, it is particularly suitable for preventing damage from occurring on a handle holder of the door assembly.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
A refrigerator is an appliance used to store and keep food fresh for a long period of time. The refrigerator includes a food storage compartment, wherein food is always kept fresh at a low temperature due to a constant cooling cycle. In order to refrigerate the food storage compartment, the refrigerator includes a compressor, a condenser, a heat exchanger, a blower fan, and a refrigerant tube.
Each assembly part of the refrigerator will now be described.
The compressor compresses and circulates the refrigerant. The condenser then condenses the compressed refrigerant into a liquid form. The heat exchanger vaporizes the condensed refrigerant and absorbs the heat within the food storage compartment. The blowing fan blows the cool vapor around the heat exchanger into the food storage compartment. Finally, the refrigerant tube connects the compressor, the condenser, and the heat exchanger.
Meanwhile, a door for opening and closing the refrigerator is provided on a side (e.g., a front side) of the refrigerator. The door includes a hinge-type door and a sliding door.
The hinge-type door is fixed to both upper and lower surfaces of a side of the refrigerator, the door pivoting around the hinge to open and close the refrigerator. Also, the sliding door opens and closes the refrigerator by moving back and forth along a guide provided within the refrigerator.
In addition, a door assembly of a refrigerator is provided on the refrigerator in order to allow a user to open and close the refrigerator. The door assembly of the refrigerator includes a door, a handle, and a handle holder.
The door of the door assembly of the refrigerator is provided on the front side of the refrigerator and opens and closes the refrigerator for storing, putting in, and taking out food from the refrigerator.
Moreover, one end of the handle holder of the door assembly is fixed to the door and another end of the handle holder is attached to the handle.
FIG. 1 illustrates a structure of a related art refrigerator having a sliding door applied therein.
Referring to FIG. 1, the sliding door type refrigerator includes a main body 1, an upper front door, and a lower front door. The door formed on the upper front side of the refrigerator is a hinge-type door 2, whereas the door formed on the lower front side is a sliding door 3.
In addition, a door assembly of a refrigerator is provided to open and close the refrigerator by using the sliding door 3. Herein, the door assembly of the refrigerator includes a sliding door 3, a handle 4, and a handle holder 5.
Each assembly part of the door assembly will now be described in detail.
The sliding door 3 opens and closes the refrigerator, so as to store food therein and to take out the stored food therefrom.
The handle 4 is formed on one side of the sliding door 3, so as to allow the user to open and close the refrigerator door. In addition, the handle holder 5 is provided in order to connect the handle 4 and the sliding door 3. More specifically, one end of the handle holder 5 is fixed to the sliding door 3, and the other end of the handle holder 5 is attached to the handle 4, thereby connecting the sliding door 3 and the handle 4.
Moreover, in order to facilitate the user when opening and closing the sliding door 3, a sliding guide 8 is formed on each side of the sliding door 3 in the related art sliding door type refrigerator. Another pair of sliding guides (not shown) or grooves (not shown), corresponding to the sliding guides 8 of the sliding door 3, is formed on the inner side surfaces of the refrigerator.
FIG. 2 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a related art door assembly of a refrigerator.
Referring to FIG. 2, a fixing part penetrating the handle holder 5 fixes one end of the handle holder 5 to the upper surface of the sliding door 3. Herein, the fixing part is formed of a plurality of screws 6 and 7. More specifically, the screws 6 and 7 include a first screw 6 adjacent to the handle, and a second screw 7 adjacent to the interior of the refrigerator.
Meanwhile, a hole is formed inside the other end of the handle holder 5, whereby each end of the handle 4 is fixed to each hole, so as to be attached to the handle holder 5.
As shown in FIG. 2, in order to open and close the sliding door 3, the user applies force to the upper portion of the handle 4. More specifically, when the user opens and closes the sliding door 3 formed on the lower portion of the refrigerator, the user applies force not only to pull the handle 4, but also to lift the handle 4 upwards. The force applied upwards (or the lifting force F) is represented as an arrow in FIG, 2.
As described above, the upward force F is transmitted to the handle holder 5 connected to the handle 4, thereby causing damage to the handle holder 5. The damage caused to the handle holder 5 will now be described in detail with reference to FIG. 3,
FIG. 3 illustrates a damaged part of a handle holder of the related art refrigerator.
Referring to FIG. 3, the lifting force applied to the handle holder 5 causes the force to be concentrated to the hole of the handle holder 5 through which the first screw 6 is penetrated. As the user continuously uses the refrigerator and the sliding door, the same lifting force is constantly and repeatedly applied to handle holder 5. Eventually, as the force accumulates to the hole of the handle holder 5, the handle holder 5 is damaged along the damaged part, as shown in FIG. 3.
As described above, the related art door assembly of the refrigerator has the following disadvantages.
In the related art door assembly of the refrigerator, the applied force is concentrated at only one portion of the handle holder. Therefore, continuous and repeated usage causes damage to the handle holder.